President Trump’s attempt to secure a landmark trade deal entered a critical stage on Tuesday, as his advisers began high-level talks with Canadian Officials, meanwhile GOP lawmakers said they will insist on including Canada in any NAFTA agreement. Following more than a year of talks, Mexico and the United States announced a bilateral deal on Monday, reaching an agreement to replace NAFTA, a 24-year-old pact, while excluding Canada. NAFTA, including Canada, accounts for over $1 trillion in annual trade between the three countries.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington on Tuesday afternoon to begin reviewing the trade outline President Trump had inked the early this week with Mexican leaders. Freeland said today she is “encouraged by urgent discussions that are intended to overhaul NAFTA.” Leaving a morning session with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Freeland told reporters “We continue to be encouraged by the constructive atmosphere that I think both countries are bringing to the table.”
Freeland is seeking to forge a three-country deal by Friday. Talks this week focused on diary as the U.S. pressures Canada to strike a deal by Friday. Ottawa has indicated it is ready to make concessions on Canada’s protected diary market in a bid to save the dispute-settlement system. President Trump has warned he could proceed with a deal with Mexico alone and levy tariffs on Canada if it does not come on board with the revised trade terms.
After being sidelined from the talks for more than two months, Freeland will be under pressure to accept terms the United States and Mexico have worked out. Despite obstacles, the United States and Canada could reach an in-principle agreement by Friday’s deadline. “
“We’re hearing that there’s a lot of progress being made and that it’s possible that we’ll be able to see something sometime soon, said Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House Council on Economics Advisers. “Absolutely, the Friday deadline is a real thing and we hope that Canada will be part of that,” Hassett said.
The three countries are aiming to seal a trade pact by Friday to allow Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to sign it before he leaves office at the end of November. Due to timelines set out in U.S. trade law, the U.S. would need to notify Congress of a deal by Friday, USTR Lighthizer said. However, Lighthizer said a notification could be sent that left open the possibility of Canada reaching a deal sometime after Friday. The timeline accommodates a 90-day waiting period under U.S. trade law before President Trump can sign the pact.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday that it is likely the deal will be voted on next year after congressional midterm elections in November.
